See now you're moving the goalpost. You said before that TNA would constantly refer to somebody as "the former whatever". I give you evidence to show that will likely not be the case, and you start bringing up the gimmicks and feuds, which wasn't part of your original point. Anderson had that gimmick before his WWE debut, so why should he stop it after he leaves? Why does WWE automatically get final dibs on a gimmick? If a gimmick works why should a guy have to stop doing it simply because it's what he did in WWE?
How is Pope like Rock other than the 3rd person reference?
Anderson did not have the name repetition, the mic from the ceiling or the Mister [insert name here].... gimmick prior to WWE. The closest support for your argument is that he did his own ring announcing in the WWE's OVW minor league. Moreover, as to Tara, the whole gimmick was about her being the WWE's Victoria and now she's in a feud with Mickie about her WWE days. My point is that instead of building new elements, TNA continually tries to present their talents as the exact same person they were in WWE and repeatedly harkens back to their WWE careers, not just in a "former world champion" way, but by specifically mentioning WWE, WCW and ECW over and over.
Which, for the hundredth time, is the response to your question as to when does it no longer become a WWE thing: When TNA stops treating it like a WWE thing. When TNA stops mentioning WWE and ECW on nearly every episode. When they stop making a big deal about the person coming in from WWE. When they stop basing their feuds and angles on what happened in other companies. If they want to continue to tie people back to their WWE days, they have to accept that people will continue to think of the performers as WWE performers.
I'll give you an example of what I mean. It's not perfect, but it is illustrative. Let's look at WWE's introduction of Daniel Bryan. His history is a part of his WWE character, but its in a general sense. It's never that he's the former Bryan Danielson who wrestled in ROH and in Japan, its that he's a guy who wrestled internationally and in indy companies. Obviously, the scale is different between being a former WWE TV character and a ROH star, but the point is that the same storyline element, ie.... Bryan's long career path and success, is introduced, but without a specific reference to another company or specific elements of his career.
Of course, the classic example is "The Real Wold Champion" Ric Flair in 1991. Flair came in with the WCW title belt and was clearly presented as being the same person he had been before. But you NEVER had a reference to WCW or any specific incident or event. It was just that a guy with a World Title belt from somewhere else had come in to challenge Hogan. That's how you handle a world championship level guy, not saying he's the former WCW champion.
Also, you aren't seriously arguing that Pope is not a clone of the Rock are you? It's not just the third person (which itself would be enough) but "The Congregation" (i.e.... the People). How about "the Pope..... is..... Pimpin......" being delivered in exactly the same way as "Rock is cooking"? Pope talking about raising his pimp hand in the same tone and meaning as laying the smack down? People have named their fans before and had catchphrases and all that, but Pope is doing all those things in the EXACT same way as the Rock. Seriously, its very clear that Pope is supposed to be just like the Rock.
